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Trees for You and Me This male gerenuk exhibits natural behavior as it feasts on leaves in its
habitat. The gerenuk, a species of antelope native to north-east Africa,
Many CZS staff members are active in conservation has modified lumbar vertebrae and powerful hind legs that allow it to
efforts outside of the zoo. Senior keeper of carnivores, stand up. An elongated neck enables it to reach small leaves that other
Christy Mazrimas-Ott, is program manager of Trees animals cannot touch.
for You and Me (TFYM), a tree planting and conser-
vation program she helped found in 2009. BROOKFIELD ZOO | SPRING 2020 27

TFYM is a program of the American Association
of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) with support from Polar
Bears International, a nonprofit dedicated to saving
polar bears from extinction. As you may know, polar
bears are in jeopardy. They are adapted to hunting
and feeding on animals, such as seals and walruses,
that dwell in the water beneath sea ice. As the Earth's
surface temperature rises and melts the ice, the bears
lose access to their food source. Increasing concentra-
tions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases
in the atmosphere are causing Earth's warming.

In 2016, TFYM created the TFYM grant
for habitat restoration, a carbon-offset grant. “By
planting trees, you reduce carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere because it is absorbed through trees,”
said Mazrimas-Ott. Each years, grants are awarded
to two nonprofit groups for a reforestation or habitat
revitalization project.

Red Panda Network, a 2018 grant winner, is
planting 10,000 native trees in a water catchment
(watershed) area of western Nepal to protect the red
panda population and conserve water supplies for
3,000 villagers. Save the Golden Lion Tamarin is
planting a forest corridor to connect two forest frag-
ments so golden lion tamarins (endangered South
American monkeys) can move safely between them.

Grants were also used to plant tree corridors in
Brazil's Atlantic Forest; reforest a historic park in
Trenton, New Jersey; and restore sandhill crane
habitat in Florida's Lake Louisa State Park.

Participating AAZK chapters have raised as much
as $19,000 a year for the grants by holding plant and
rummage sales, brewery parties, polar plunges, and
bingo games, said Mazrimas-Ott. “We raised just
under $3,000 from a dunk tank last summer.” Money
is also raised from individual contributors and the sale
of TFYM merchandise (aazk.org). If you want to help
save polar bears and reduce climate warming, you can
support AAZK's fund-raising events at the zoo.

Don't miss our annual Party for the Planet on
Saturday, April 18. As always, arborist Todd Ernst
will demonstrate how to plant a tree, with help from
some of our younger guests. While supplies last, oak
saplings and acorn seeds will be available to take
home and plant.